


Tear Zootopia Apart-Chapter three

by Azuris_Katze



Series: Tear Zootopia Apart [3]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 19:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9198770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuris_Katze/pseuds/Azuris_Katze
Summary: A year has past since Nick Wilde joined the ZPD and his relationship with Judy Hopps has strengthened. However, with the arrival of an old friend and a new villain trying to break Zootopia, Nick has to face more darkness from his past. Will his relationship with Judy last? Or will this new case tear them apart? (Rated mature for adult romance and violence)





	

Nick woke up feeling as if his stomach had been tied in knot during the night. He had decided to come clean with Judy and the decision terrified him. He knew what Aeron had said was true about, if he wanted his friendship with Judy to last, he would have to be honest with her. She had been honest with him about her past. Of course...she had been a model student and the only mark on her record is the few times she got in fights standing up for her friends.   
They were so different, but that was what made them such great friends and partners. He had friends before, Aeron being one of his closest, but he had never clicked with any other mammal in the way he did with Judy. What if Aeron was wrong and she did reject him after this? What if...  
Before his mind could continue diving into the pool of 'what ifs' Nick shook his head and quickly jumped in the shower to get ready for work. The heat of the water seemed to help release the knot in his stomach slightly so that he could relax.   
After his shower he quickly pulled on his uniform and walked out into the hallway, his nose twitching as he picked up a delicious smell. Breathing it in, he entered the kitchen, seeing that Aeron was awake and cooking.   
Nick smirked as he leaned on the small counter that stood between him and Aeron. “Well well, here I thought you just looked good, who knew you were actually useful as well.” without looking at him Aeron gracefully flipped him off as he turned off the oven.   
“Never insult someone who is handling your food.” Nick chuckled as he watched Aeron scrape the contents onto two plates, his nose twitching at the smell. “Do you have time to eat?” Nick glanced at the mounted clock above the oven.   
“Well if you're willing to let me borrow your car then yes.” Aeron also looked at the clock then back at Nick, the look in his eyes telling Nick he was about to suggest something that he wasn't going to like.   
“What about I drive you to work so that I can use the car.” Nick frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest.   
“I thought we talked about you staying inside?” Aeron's eye brows narrowed as he rested his paws on his hips.   
“We did and I told you not going to happen. So either I drive you to work and have a car so that I can get things done quickly or you take the car and I use public transportation where a lot more mammals will see me and I won't be able to get away as fast if something does happen.” Nick's frown deepened as he attempted to hold Aeron's gaze, but he could see that he wasn't going to win this.   
Sighing he took one of the plates and walked to the couch. “Fine. You can drive me to work.” Aeron's face lit up as he did the same.   
“I knew you would see it my way!” Nick rolled his eyes as he took his seat, looking at his plate, breathing in the smell again so that his mouth started to water.   
“It's not very fancy, just chopped up fish mixed with some spices I found. I just thought this would be better than the dry cereal you seem to call breakfast.” Nick would usually have taken this time to be dramatic but he was to busy filling his belly with deliciousness to respond.   
“It's delicious.” An appreciative smile crossed Aeron's face as silence fell between them as they both enjoyed their breakfast. In the silence, Nick's mind returned to fussing over his decision to come clean with Judy. Sighing, he put his plate down as he felt his stomach re knot.   
“Crims? Are You okay?” he took a moment before answering as his ears laid back and his paws clasped together.   
“I'm going to tell her.” at first Aeron seemed surprised then a mixture of pride and empathy spread over him.   
“I'm proud of you Crims.” Nick nodded as he felt the knot tighten inside of him as another wave of anxiety washed over him.   
“I'm so scared, PB. I don't even know where to start with her. There's so much that I want to tell her but I'm so afraid she'll hate me.” Aeron nodded his understanding as he cuffed Nick's shoulder.   
“You don't have to tell her everything all at once, Crims. What's important is showing her that you want to open up to her and that you will, you just need some time to share it all.” Nick nodded as the knot in his stomach loosened slightly.   
“True. I just hope she can be patient with me.” Aeron gave him a friendly smile as he playfully shoved him.   
“Hey, if she's last this long dealing with you Mr. Hustler, she can handle waiting through this.” 

888888888888888

Judy knew that she shouldn't be waiting for Nick outside of their department yet there she was, waiting outside. At least she had kept herself from calling Nick multiple times after their talk last evening. She said she was going to give him space so she needed to do that but she hated being out of the loop. She hated feeling like her partner was hurting and there was nothing she could do to help.   
Sighing she looked at her phone. Where the heck was he? He was usually here by now. Her heart beat quickened as her quick mind instantly jumped to the worst scenario. What if he was hurt? Or something else bad?   
Before the anxiety could fully take over her brain, she took a deep breath to calm herself. He wasn't late for work yet. If something had happened he would have messaged her. He was just running late. She repeated this to herself until an all to familiar voice reached out for her.   
“What are you doing out here, Carrots?”   
“Nick!” her ears perked straight up as her eyes lit up as they drank in the vision of her best friend and partner. Her excitement took him by surprise at first but it soon melted into his usual warm smile that seemed to be just for her.   
“Wow Carrots, I was only gone a day but your reaction makes it seem like I was gone for weeks.” heat warmed her cheeks slightly as she quickly changed the subject.   
“Why are you late? Did you miss your usual train?” she noticed that he seemed to tense slightly as they walked through the door together.   
“Uh...no...A friend gave me a ride.” her ears perked in curiosity as she noticed hat his discomfort seemed to worsen.   
“A friend?” she understood that Nick probably had friends besides her and Finnick, but he had never gotten a ride before. Her confusion strengthened as Nick sighed and came to a stop.   
“Carrots, listen.” her ears perked towards him as he hesitated, her eyes widening a bit in curiosity and confusion. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable before. His ears were almost flat against his head and his eyes kept skipping around to avoid hers. He sighed again as he bent forward, resting his paws on his knees, so that he was more level with her.   
“I'm sorry about not being honest with you about why I missed work yesterday. I plan to explain just not right now.” Judy's stomach fluttered as she felt both happy that he was going to trust her and sheepish that she had acted so immaturely to the point he felt like he needed to apologize.   
“Okay. We'll talk later.” his smile returned as he relaxed, rising to his full height.   
“Yup. Right now, we have a job to do.” and there he was, her best friend and partner. The strange energy that had been covering him the past month was gone and it took all of Judy's self control to not whoop with glee.   
“Yup! Time to make the world a better place!” Nick playfully rolled his eyes as they joined the rest of their coworkers for roll call.   
“Carrots, please tell me you hear how corny you sound when you say things like that!” she just rolled her eyes at him as she let him hop up into their shared seat first, sending a greeting nod to Officer McHorn and his fellow table mates, who all returned the gesture.   
“Ten hut!” Judy's ears perked up as the door opened to show Chief Bogo; who was greeted with the usual table slapping and howling.   
“Alright shut it!” Silence quickly answered his order as he flicked his glasses open and placed them on. “As I mentioned yesterday there are some rumors going around that the old drug nick named DB is back on the streets. While there is no evidence of this I want all officers to keep their eyes opened for any suspicious activity.” Judy noticed Nick tense next to her, her head turning slightly to shoot him a concerned look, which he shooed away with a smile.   
“Also, we have a missing minor, James Otterton.” Judy's eyes widened as her heart jumped. If she remembered correctly that was the oldest son of Emmett Otterton. Poor Mrs. Otterton first having to deal with her husband going missing and now, a little over a year later, having to deal with her son missing. Why was he missing in the first place? Judy was so buried in her thoughts that she missed Bogo giving out assignments until she heard her name.   
“Officers Hopps and Wilde! You will go and speak to James Otterton's parents to learn anything you can about why he is missing.” a quick glance around the room showed that most of the other officers had been given their assignments while a handful were left for just patrol.  
She let Nick hop down to go receive the file holding the information of James Otterton's case. As soon as Nick took their file Chief Bogo dismissed them and Judy followed her habit of waiting for the larger mammals to file out before jumping down to join Nick.  
“Poor Mrs. Otterton, she must be so worried!” Nick nodded as they walked out together. Something about him still seemed off, her senses picking it up even more as she noticed him slow down as he watched Bogo enter his office. “Nick...Are you okay?” Her voice seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as he quickly looked down at her.   
“Uh yeah! I'm fine, Carrots. Just thinking...” Judy's ears drooped slightly as she frowned, feeling left out again. Nick's ears lowered slightly as he sighed, running his paw over his face. “I'm doing it again.” Judy's ears perked up as her sensitive hearing picked up some suspicious whispering; noticing that some of the officers still around were eying them.   
Gently she touched Nick's arm and smiled at him. “We'll talk in the patrol car.” she noticed his eyes dance around the lobby, them narrowing slightly as he caught the officers attempting to make it look like they hadn't been watching them. To Judy's delight his usual sly smirk returned as his ears perked up.   
“Alright clever bunny, lead the way!”

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Nick glanced through the small case file as Judy drove them to Emmett's Floral Shop. He could tell by the way that Judy's fingers were tapping against the wheel and the occasional glances in his direction, she wanted to ask him what he had met inside the lobby of the ZPD. However, his answer wasn't going to be a quick one and there was only fifteen minutes between where they were and their destination. On the other hand, he was concerned he would give Judy a nervous break down if he didn't at least explain why he had tensed up at the mention of DB.   
Taking a deep breath, Nick gathered up his courage and spoke. “How much do you know about the drug DB?” he noticed Judy's ears perk up, her taking a moment before answering.   
“Honestly nothing. The only drug that circulated around Bunny Burrow was Nip and even that was rare. I have heard of other drugs that circulate through Zootopia but I've never heard of DB before.” Nick nodded as he messed with his sunglasses.   
“I'm not surprised, the ZPD cracked down hard on those dealing it six years ago and it seemed to vanish.” Judy nodded to show she was following as she slowed to a stop for a red light. Nick could tell that her mind was processing everything he was saying and also could see in her eyes that she was curious as to how he knew this but wasn't going to press. Nick was grateful for this because that was going to be part of the hard part.   
“I can't remember the actual scientific name but DB stands for Devil's Bite.” he gave a dry chuckle at seeing Judy's eyebrow raise at him at the odd name. “I know it sounds a bit odd, but it fits. DB enhances the user's primal urges.” confusion masked Judy's face as she went forward as the light changed.   
“That sounds similar to the Nighthowler flower.” Nick nodded as he ran his thumb over the edge of the case file.   
“It is similar except the user keeps their logic for the most part. They still remember who they are and can recognize other mammals. However, if a mammal overdoses it can cause a very similar savage aggression like the Nighthowler and even death.” silence fell between them as Nick gave Judy time to process all that he said as the knot in his stomach returned. He knew that soon he would have to tell her how he knew all of this and he was not looking forward to it. However, he had told her he would tell her everything so he would.   
“Is it addictive?”   
“Yes. It also effects the brain over time; dimming the user's ability to process emotions and keep themselves in check.” his ears twitched forward as he heard her sigh softly as he noticed her tighten her grip on the wheel.   
“What can we expect if it is circulating again?” Nick frowned slightly in thought as he tried to remember what it had been like years ago.   
“That I don't know much about. From what I know we can expect violent crimes to steadily build up and also, possibly, some casualties.” he sympathized with Judy's flinch, neither outcomes were pleasant to think about.   
Silence fell between them again as Nick glanced down at the case file as he quietly hoped that James Otterton proved easier to find then his father had been.   
“There's the shop!” Nick looked up to where Judy was pointing with her left hand,her right still gripping the wheel. She was pointing at a simple shop with windows that were lined with flowers of every color that Nick could think of.   
With her usual passion, Judy jerked their patrol car into a parallel parking spot, fiddling with her seat belt. Nick chuckled slightly as he watched Judy free herself and jump out of the still running car. “Hey, Carrots! Forget something?” she glanced at him in confusion then her violet eyes widened in realization and she smacked her face with her paw.   
“Oh!” she leaned into the patrol car and turned it off, taking the keys with her. Nick's sly smirk stretched across his muzzle as he climbed out.   
“Dumb bunny.” she shot him a pretend look of irritation as she waved his 'insult' away with her paw.   
“Oh sush.” Nick shushed but kept his smile as they entered the floral store together. As soon as they entered the scents of hundreds of different kids of flowers attacked Nick's sensitive nose, causing it to twitch slightly.   
“I'll be with you in a moment!” A polite feminine voice called out to them, Nick automatically recognizing it as Mrs. Otterton's. Judy took a step forward as she rose her voice slightly.   
“Mrs. Otterton? It's Officers Hopps and Wilde. We're here to talk to you about your son.” there was silence and then the sound of things being pushed aside as a sleek female otter dressed in a simple sky blue dress with a matching knitted sweater over it came into sight.   
Her green eyes warmed as they landed on Nick and Judy as she smiled. “Oh I'm so glad they sent you two!” Nick held back, allowing Judy to greet the female otter with a gentle hug. Judy was a lot better at the personal parts of the job so he usually let her take the lead when interacting with witnesses.   
“We're glad we were asked as well, though we wish this could just be a visit.” Mrs. Otterton's eyes shown with tears as Nick noticed that they seemed to already be red from crying.   
“Yes, as do I.” the two females parted as Mrs. Otterton motioned them to follow her. “Come upstairs, it's more private.” Nick and Judy followed her up a narrow stairway to the apartment above the store. It had a simple hallway that led into a modest kitchen with three rooms branching from the hallway (Nick guessed those were the bed rooms and bathroom).   
“I'm sorry Officer Wilde, but our chairs are to small for you.” It made sense for the kitchen table and four chairs to be to small for Nick, seeing as this was a home for otters. He let Judy take a seat next to Mrs. Otterton and stayed standing, leaning against the wall slightly.   
“No problem, Mrs. Otterton.” she gave him a friendly smile before refocusing on Judy, who was getting her notepad and pen ready.   
“How long has your son been missing, Mrs. Otterton.” Nick was impressed with how Judy's voice had the balance of professionalism and gentleness that most cops seemed to lack.   
“Since Friday after school. I've talked to his teachers and they said he was at school all day, but he didn't make it home.” Judy scribbled some notes down and continued.   
“Do you remember what he had been wearing that morning?” Mrs. Otterton took a moment to think then nodded.   
“He was wearing brand new blue jeans and a black Gazelle tee-shirt. He loves her music...has since she stood up for the predators last year...” Nick noticed her eyes swim with unshed tears again but she quickly cleared her throat and continued. “You might already know this but he turned thirteen two months ago.” Judy nodded as she gave her a warm smile.   
“We did see that in the case file. He's gotten bigger too, since the last time we saw him.” Mrs. Otterton nodded as the pain only a mother could understand seemed to threaten to concur her again.   
“Yes. He's my big boy.” Nick watched as Judy reached out to gently squeeze Mrs. Otterton's paw before continuing.   
“Was he having any issues at school or home?” Mrs. Otterton shook her head.   
“No, neither. In fact he continuously told us how much he was enjoying school.”   
“And nothing odd with his behavior at home?” Judy gently pressed as she wrote a quick note on her notepad. Mrs. Otterton took a moment to think then shook her head.   
“No. He's been his usual happy self. Sure, I've had to get after him about cleaning his room or pick up after himself around the house, but what mother doesn't have to do that with a teenager?” Judy nodded her understanding as she jotted down another note, Nick moving slightly so that he could see over her shoulder.   
“If you think of anything to add, Mrs. Otterton please contact us. Also, if anyone attempts to make contact with you about your son contact us immediately.” Mrs. Otterton nodded her understanding as she mirrored Judy in standing up.   
“Thank you both again, Officers. I know that you will bring my son back to me just like you brought my husband back.” the pure trust radiating off the small otter truly touched Nick's heart as he moved to stand next to Judy.   
“We will do our best, Mrs. Otterton.” she smiled at him as she pushed in the chairs.   
“Let me walk you two out.” 

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Nick and Judy headed back to ZPD after their talk with Mrs. Otterton to add their info to James Otterton's case file. Though she had not forgotten about their unfinished discussion about DB, Judy decided to let it go until they were off duty. After imputing their new information into the case file, the two police officers discussed what their next action should be.   
“I guess we should talk to his school, maybe there is something they saw that his parents weren't seeing,” Judy brought up. Nick frowned in thought.   
“Possibly. I know that I certainly didn't tell my parents all that was going on at school when I was in middle school.” Judy nodded as she looked through the file, finding the name of the school.   
“What do you think? Phone call or personal visit?” Nick hmmed in thought.  
“Phone call first, if they have a lot to share then we'll go for a visit.” Judy agreed and they also agreed that Nick would take the lead in the conversation, but that they would have the call on speakerphone.   
They placed their work phone between them as Nick dialed, hitting the appropriate numbers until they finally reached a secretary. Nick's experience in gently pushing people to get what you want quickly led them to talking to the principal. However, the principal quickly explained that she had multiple other students to keep an eye on so was not the best to ask about an individual. She did give them the number to reach James homeroom teacher where they were quickly told how bright and wonderful of a student he was and how much his teacher hoped they would find him soon and in good health.   
“Well, sounds like James Otterton is one outstanding kid,” Nick stated as they ended the phone call. Judy nodded her agreement as she racked her brains on what to do next.   
“So why did someone take this outstanding kid? His parents don't seem to be rich enough for someone to be doing it for ransom.” Nick hummed in agreement as he collected his and Judy's trash from their lunch earlier.   
“Besides, this is the second day since he went missing, if it was ransom. they would have contacted them by now.” Judy hummed her agreement as her eyes glanced over the case file again. She didn't know where to go from here. She could see no reason why anyone would want to take this young otter and she highly doubted that he was a runaway.   
“I think tomorrow we should go to the school and see if we can talk to some of his friends. Maybe they'll know something.” Nick nodded in agreement.  
“Sounds fair.” silence fell between them as Judy continued looking over the case file and Nick got up to throw away their trash. Judy sighed as she ran her right paw over her ears.   
“It looks like we've got another tough case here.” Nick gave her a confident grin as he took his seat.   
“Hey no big deal! We've solved big ones before, we can do it again!” Judy gave a faint smile as she could tell that Nick was trying to get her to regain her gusto. It seemed that he was always there when she was starting to loose confidence in herself. He kept her going.   
For a moment his mentioning of possible casualties came back to her. Could he be one of those causalities? Could she? Would any of their fellow officers be in danger? As fear started to squeeze her heart she forced her thoughts away. Now was not the time to think about that. She had a missing otter to find!  
Judy attacked the next couple hours with renewed gusto as they discussed how they wanted to handle talking to James Otterton's friends and what else they could possibly do to find the young otter. Remembering how they had found the fourteen missing mammals last year, Judy brought up checking the traffic cameras. However, a quick check of the paths between the school and the Ottertons' home showed that there were to many spots with no traffic cams to really get a good idea of what had happened.   
Judy was not the type to give up easily though so their last two hours of their shift was spent combing through traffic cam footage of the area around the time James Otterton would have been walking home from school.   
“So does this mean he never left school grounds or does it mean that he just went a way that we can't see?” Judy asked, Nick giving a shrug as his response.   
“No clue. However, when we are at the school, we can check their security footage. I don't know if they have any outside the building but at least inside we can see if he left the building and what time he did.” Judy's ears perked up as she grinned, giving Nick an affectionate punch in the arm.   
“Great idea slick!” Nick grinned down at her as he leaned back in his chair.   
“It's known to happen at times.” Judy was about to give her own teasing response but stopped when she noticed a change come over Nick. He seemed to tense as his ears lowered slightly, his eyes glancing at the clock on their computer.   
“Looks like our shift is over.” Judy glanced at the clock, her ears drooping a bit.   
“Looks that way. Well, we have to wait until tomorrow to continue anyways.” Nick nodded, the tension in his body seeming to only strengthen as he rose to his feet. Judy reached out for him, about to speak, but he cut her off. “Let's go somewhere for dinner, Carrots.” again, Judy opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Nick stroking his paw over her ears. His eyes seemed almost sad as he attempted a smile. “We have a lot to talk about.” Judy slowly nodded her understand, still trying to understand why he seemed so tense.   
Silence stayed between them as they left the ZPD and mounted the train. For a moment they spoke as they discussed where they would like to go; finally agreeing on going to a small little restaurant that served mostly meat but did have salads. Once decided they both fell silent again; Judy continuously glancing up at Nick.   
His eyes were focused straight ahead of him as he seemed to be deep in thought. He had relaxed slightly but he still seemed tense. Seeing this way made her ears droop. She was glad that he was going to talk to her, but it worried her how much this seemed to be upsetting him. Maybe she should tell him it was okay, that he didn't have to tell her anything.   
However, the train came to their stop and she followed Nick out onto the platform and through the rush of mammals. Judy kept close to Nick to avoid getting trampled as they made it to Grizzy's Place.   
A simply dressed female deer greeted them at the door with a bright smile. This was one of the few places that Nick and Judy didn't get odd looks from other mammals since there seemed to be a fair amount of mixed species acquaintances that used this restaurant.   
“Table for two?” the hostess asked, her voice as bright as her smile. Judy let Nick answer; watching the deer look around for a free table. “Follow me!” they followed the deer around differently sized tables made for a wide variety of sized mammals.   
Finally they stopped at a table that was decently sized for both of them. Judy noticed Nick hold back so that she could pick where to sit first, sitting across from her as the hostess laid their menus down for them.   
“You're waitress will be with you in a moment.” both Judy and Nick said their thank yous as the hostess walked away; leaving them to look over their menus. Judy glanced over her menu at Nick to see that most of the tension in him had melted away.   
He laid his menu down and smiled at her. “Have you figured out what you want yet?” Judy nodded as she placed her menu down. It was easy to decide when there were only about four entrees she could eat.   
Her ears perked up as she heard Nick breathe as if he was going to speak, only to loose confidence and look back down at his menu. The tension was back in him, leading Judy to reach out to him.   
“Nick...” Nick's arm quickly jerked away from her as their waitress came to the table. She was an attractive white wolf who seemed to eye them with respectful curiosity.   
“Hello my name is Lola, have you two decided on what you would like?” Nick signaled Judy to go first, her quickly speaking.   
“Can I please have the carrot salad?” Lola smiled as she wrote down the order on her notepad.   
“Of course hun. And for you hun?” she asked, looking at Nick. Judy watched as he slipped into his old smooth hustler role as he answered.   
“I just want the insect noodle platter please sweetheart.” by the way Lola's smile widened Nick's charm had worked on her as she jotted down his order and took their menus.   
“Of course hun! I'll be right back with those. If you need anything just call me over.” and she sashayed away. Judy eyed Nick who had a very pleased look on his face.   
“Trying to get a free dinner, slick Nick?” Nick shrugged his shoulders as his grin widened.   
“Old habits die hard.” and just as quick as his role came it vanished and the tension was back. Judy watched as he seemed to try multiple times to talk only to have no sound come out. Again she reached out to him and this time he didn't pull away.   
“Nick, it's okay. You don't have to tell me.” his eyes glanced down at her paw resting on his arm and he let out a deep sigh, covering her paw with his.   
“Yes I do, Carrots. I want you to know that I trust you completely and I want you to know that you can trust me completely.” Judy nodded her understanding as she gently squeezed his arm.   
“Okay, I'm listening.” Nick glanced around, Judy knowing that he was seeing if mammals were watching their tender moment. But, the other mammals were all busy with their own dinner conversations to be paying attention to them.   
“I guess the best way to start is to tell you why I wasn't at work yesterday.” he glanced around again, the tension seeming to return to his body, before he took a deep breath and continued. “Six months ago Finnick helped me get back into contact with an old friend. This friend was in prison at the time and they were released yesterday and asked if I could help them out and I am. They are staying with me until they can get back on their feet.” Judy nodded slowly, not understanding why he had been so tense about telling her this. Did he really think she would look down at him for having a friend who was in jail?   
“What was their crime?” she asked, making sure to keep her tone as gentle as possible. She felt Nick tense, slightly squeezing her paw before releasing. So that was what he was tense about.   
“Prostitution and drug dealing.” Judy blinked at him as her mind processed.   
“Let me guess, they dealt with DB.” Nick nodded with a deep sigh.   
“Yes. In my friend's defense they weren't given much of a choice.” Judy was about to ask what he meant, but Nick quickly jerked away his paw from her's as their waitress came into view carrying two plates.   
“Here you go, anything else I can get either of you?” Though she did speak to both of them her eyes seemed to linger on Nick who shook his head as he eased back into his role.   
“No thank you hun.” Lola nodded, gave another smile and went to her next table as Nick returned his attention to Judy.   
“Let's not let our, well my, food get cold.” Judy gave a light laugh at his attempt at humor as they both dug in. Judy had to admit that the salad was delicious and one of the best she had had in Zootopia. “How's your salad?”   
“Delicious. How's your insect noodles?” she shuttered slightly at saying 'insects'. Though she was getting better at being around Nick while eating meat she still struggled with it every once in awhile.   
“Delicious as well.” they both went back to enjoying their meals, Judy taking the silence to process what Nick had told her. So Nick new about DB because of his friend but how did he know his friend? And what did he mean that she didn't have much choice? She had a feeling that there was still stuff that he needed to share with her. And she was right.   
As Nick finished his meal, he leaned forward, cleared his throat and, after a bit of struggling, spoke. “I want you to come back to my apartment tonight to meet my friend, if that's okay.” Judy nodded, curiosity getting the better of her.   
“That's fine, I'd like to meet her too.” to her surprise Nick gave a mix of a yep and a laugh, covering his mouth with his paw.   
“Aeron isn't a female, he's male.” Judy's eyes widened a bit at her bias. Of course there were male prostitutes along with female prostitutes. Nick gave another chuckle as he winked at her.   
“Don't worry about it, common mistake.” Judy nodded as she took the last bite of her salad.   
“So how did you meet Aeron?” and again he tensed up, his eyes lowering a bit. There still was more.   
Again he struggled but when he got to the point that he seemed he was going to be able to answer, a loud buzzing sound interrupted him. After a moment they realized that Nick's phone was going off as he fished it out of his pocket, a frown creasing his muzzle.   
“It's the station.” giving Judy no time to ask questions he answered the call and brought it to his ear. “Hello?” heart pounding, Judy watched as first confusion then surprise, then concern crossed Nick's face. “We'll be there when we can, Clawhouser. Thank you!” Judy waited until he had hung up before asking him what was wrong. Eyes still wide, Nick looked at her.   
“The Ottertons just found a letter taped to the shop door.” dread gripped Judy's heart.   
“What did it say?” Nick slid his phone into his pocket as a look of disgust crossed his face.   
“It said 'You thought that a year ago was hell just wait until you see what is going to happen to your son'.”

**Author's Note:**

> And there you go! Things are going to get a bit more interesting now! Thank you to those that are following this story I greatly appreciate it! Also if you have any suggestions, questions, or things you would like to see in this story please let me know! Along with that if anyone knows the names of some of the other ZPD officers and what animals they are


End file.
